Burning Sunflowers
by Kat-The-Redhead
Summary: Eva finds herself trapped in STEM, but not knowing a real reason as to why. It isn't until she has to fight her own demons does she realize why she's there, and who put her in.
1. Chapter 1

I don't remember when I started going to therapy at Beacon Mental Hospital, I just know I've done it since I was little. Growing up, I hated going to the hospital, and I always found myself begging caretaker not to bring. I hated it there, mostly because I didn't trust the staff, as well as the patients. But my caretaker brushed off my begging and brought me, dragging me through the halls of the hospital.

But lately, I have found myself craving hospital visits. I've been having these horrible night terrors, but I never seem to be able to remember them. As soon as I wake up, all I remember is fire, the smell of something rotting, and a little girl screaming. These started months ago and I've found myself becoming sleep deprived because I don't want to go through the nightmares.

At the moment, I was park just a few feet away from the hospital entrance. My once monthly appointments have now gone weekly, yet I felt like I should be showing up more. The skies were gray and rain was pouring in sheets. No one was o the streets and for some odd reason, something in the back of my head told me that the shops were empty too, even though I doubted that a shop would ever been empty in Krimson City.

I got out and quickly ran to the front gates of the hospital. I pushed them open, the metal creaking before I slipped through and they slammed shut behind me. I ran past the large, metal symbol for the mental facility - a light house, or beacon as the staff would call it - and made my way to the front doors.

I push them open and I greeted with the smell of rubbing alcohol and medicine. There is a quiet chatter in the lobby, with nurses and doctors talking and the very few stable patients either talking with a nurse or doctor or reading a book. One or two of them just sitting there, staring into space.

A nurse that was just passing the entry way turned to me and smiled. "Eva, back for another therapy session? It's been a week already?"

"Yes," I said, smiling back. "Though, to me, it has felt like a month."

"Nightmares still bothering you?" She asked.

"Yeah, I actually haven't really slept this whole week. I feel like I'm going to collapse," I said.

"Well, I hope Jane is helping you," She said.

"She's trying, and I appreciate that," I said. "I'll talk to you later, Mary."

"Hope today makes it better," Mary said.

I smiled before walking through the lobby, going through the set of doors on my right. I walked through the hall and as I made my way to the stairs, I passed a doctor and his patient. Just taking a glimpse at the patient, I recognized him. He's been here as long as I have been coming here, I'm pretty sure. I remember always seeing an albino boy whenever my caretaker took me here. If he was the same boy, I wouldn't be shocked. After changing my therapy sessions to weekly, I've seen the boy a lot. His name is Leslie, if I remember right, and the poor thing looked as sick as ever. I was scared for his well being.

But I didn't say a word and walked past them and as I walked away, I heard Leslie start to repeat, "Red, red, red, red."

I pulled at my hair before taking a glimpse back. The two were still walking, but Leslie seemed to be shaking a little.

'Hope I didn't cause any harm just by my permanence,' I thought before heading up to the second floor.

I navigated through the hallways before I finally stopped at the correct door. I knocked twice, heard Jane invite me in, and I waltz in to the small office.

"Eva, welcome back. Go ahead and get yourself comfortable," Jane said. She motioned for me towards the couch and I sat down, knowing that if I laid down, I would most likely pass out.

"Still having the nightmares?" Jane asked, pulling out her note pad and pen.

"Yes, I doubt they're going to go any time soon," I admit.

"Why is that?" Jane asked.

"You said that my nightmares is linked to a moment in my life, but I have no memories of fires, screaming girls, and especially that horrid smell that I can't get rid of," I said. "I don't think I'm ever going to find out! I haven't gotten any sleep in days, and I feel like collapsing. I just want it to stop!"

"It will, Eva," Jane said. "We'll figure it out toge-"

Screams broke through the air, and I froze. Jane stopped before getting up and walking over to her desk. She pulled a walkie talkie out of a drawer and called in, "What is happening? You've scared my patient."

"Somethings not right, this man, he's killing everybody. He isn't a patient, I don't even think he's human. He's-" The call was interupted my screaming and suddenly, the man that was calling in yelped and gargled, and my head knew that he was most likely gargling up his blood.

Jane paled before she looked up at me. "Under the desk, now," She demanded and I quickly got up and moved over to the desk, trying not to make noise. She pulled me under the desk and she got under as well. I could feel my heart pounding out of my chest.

'Am I going to die here?' I thought. 'Am I never going to get an answer about my nightmares?'

Outside, I hear popping, then multiple thuds. No one came in though. I prayed no one would. My head started to spin and I believe my head had just shut off on me. It isn't until Jane is pulling me that I seem to realize that someone had came in.

He said he was a detective and that there was help outside and to go there. My head felt fuzzy, and couldn't really comprehend all that was leaving his mouth. I just assume there was help outside since that was where Jane was dragging me to.

The lobby was a murder scene. Literally. Bodies scattered the floor and blood painted the furniture, floor, and walls. As we pass the door, I see Mary's body among the other bodies, her eyes droopy and dead. A cry of agony sprung through my throat before Jane dragged me through the door.

Outside was hell, to put it lightly. Everything outside was falling apart. It was the apocalypse in action. My head started to get worse, and the fire wasn't making it any easier. There seemed to be fire everywhere. It felt like my stomach was going to drop.

" Jane! Get in!"

I'm being pulled again and I just glance over to see Leslie and his doctor, along with another girl in an ambulance, right outside the hospital gate. My gaze shoots back to all the fire around and my head feels horrible. In a flash, my fuzzy head goes to it feeling like my skull is being ripped open. I want to just stop and curl up, but Jane pulls me towards the ambulance.

Once inside, I drop and grab my head. I remember the fire. It surrounded me and it was so sudden. The field was ablaze in seconds.

'Wait, field?' I thought. 'What field?'

My head shut down again and it isn't until I hear a crash do I finally come back to reality and see that we're driving and just got away from being impaled from some building equipment. I thought that would be the worst, but the next instant, we slipped through a crack and-

'Holy shit the city is moving,' I though as I look back, seeing the bus collapse as it was ripped in two.

The rest of the drive is calm and by the time we get to the outskirts of the town, everything was calm, yet destroyed.

"Eva, you okay?" Jane asked.

"I don't know," I admitted. "I think there's something wrong with my head."

"What do you mean?" Jane asked.

"My head shut down twice, and before the second time, for an instant, I was in a field that was lit of fire," I said. "And the-"

I never got to finish my sentence when the ambulance suddenly rammed into the wall. In a flash, we were suddenly floating in mid air, and I fear Leslie yell out, "Fall!"

I realized we were falling.

In the next instant, we landed and the impact knocked me out.

I didn't get to tell Jane that with the burning field, the smell of something rotting was strong and I heard a faint voice whisper something about sunflowers.


	2. Chapter 2

The fields were burning, burning and dying and the smell of death was filling my senses, filling my lungs. People are talking, yelling. They sounded faint and something was pulling me to run towards them, yet I couldn't. All I could do was stare at the on going flames.

"Remember..."

My body jerked, forcing me to turn around. A little girl stood a few feet away. She stared at the ground, blood splattered across her white night gown.

"Remember..." She whispered.

The flames grew closer and closer, and the girls voice grew louder and louder.

Just as the flames came upon me, the girl looked up, with blood splattered across her face and angry, glaring eyes, she screamed, "You will remember!"

My body jerked me awake and as soon as my eyes open, I saw fire.

I freaked, trying to crawl away from it, when I hit the back wall. I turn around and see the back doors open, just upside down.

'The ambulance flipped,' I thought before I crawled out.

I groan as I hit the ground, unprepared for the exit to be a few feet up.

"Hurt, hurt, hurt..."

I looked up and see Leslie standing there, waddling around in place.

"Red, red, red..." He mumbled, looking down at me.

I pushed myself up. "Leslie?" I asked. "You're Leslie, right?"

"Leslie?" He said. "I'm, Leslie."

"Okay, Leslie, well.." I move to touch him, and he quickly coward away. "Crap, wheres your doctor? I don't know if your a stable patient or not. Heck, I don't know if I am anymore..."

"Stable, stable..." He muttered.

"Okay, Leslie?" I said.

The albino boy looked up at me.

"We're going to go find the others, okay?," I asked. "I think it's best if we found one of our doctors. At least mine, if we could. I don't really trust your doctor."

"Others..." He mumbled.

I nodded and stretched out my hand. "I'm Eva, by the way. Come on. I don't think they could have gone far."

Leslie looked down at my hand before taking it. I smiled as he barely griped my hand and started walking towards the forest line.

"Everything is going to be okay, Leslie. I promise," I told him.

If I had know what was ahead, I wouldn't have made that promise.

* * *

The pain in my arm was burning and with my lungs feeling they were on fire, I almost thought that I was so. But the cold grip of Leslie's hand in mine brought me back to reality that no, I was not on fire. I was running for my life with Leslie as we're being chased by what I presume to be zombies covered in bob wire and glowing eyes. One had barely got me, but was able to tear up my arm, that was now bleeding and burning.

The first few showed up out of no where. Masked in the shadows, they jumped us and got my arm. In an instant, we were running, which seemed to attract more.

Leslie was trying his hardest to keep up with me, but I knew we are going to need to stop soon, but with the hoard behind us, it was unlikely.

Soon though, I saw a bridge and across that, a large, wooden barricade. I almost jumped for joy and picked up my pace. The bridge was stone and sturdy, no worries on whether or not it would break under us.

But half way across, there was suddenly one in front of us. I skidded to a stop and Leslie bumped right into me. The thing seemed to mock us, slowly walking towards while blocking our way. I looked around, searching for some kind of escape route, but there was so where to go. Unless...

"Leslie?" I turned to him. "Listen to me. We're going to need to jump into the water, okay? I-"

"No!" Leslie cried. "You go!"

"Leslie, no, I'm not-"

"Just go," Leslie pushed me, trying to get me to agree with him.

"Leslie!" I grabbed him. "I'm not leaving you, okay? I promised that everything is going to be alright and it is! I'm going to be right next to you alright? I'm not going to let you drown."

Leslie looked at me, his eyes pleading. "Pro...mise?"

"I promise Leslie," I let my grip on his arm loosen and my hand fell back into his. "I'm going to protect you."

He nodded and I glanced over. The hoard is getting closer.

"Okay, are you ready to jump?" I asked.

Leslie nodded and gripped my hand.

"Okay, follow me," I told him before climbing on to the stone wall. I looked down and cursed to see a dock below, making it impossible to jump.

I can hear the creatures going hostile, most likely realizing that we're trying to escape, when I finally notice a board sticking out of the stone wall. It looked big enough for me and Leslie to get on but whether or not it would hold us was another question.

'Fuck it, I'll take the chance,' I thought.

"Leslie, we're going to jump on to there, alright? As soon as we land on it, we're going to run and jump in," I told him.

He nodded and his grip on my hand got tighter.

"Everything is going to be okay," I told him. "You ready? One, two-"

A creature suddenly popped up and I quickly let go of Leslie. I turn around and kick it back, aiming to knock out a few more while I'm at it.

"Leslie, go! I'm right behind you!" I yelled, kicking back another creature.

I heard Leslie land on the board and as soon as I do, I turn back and jump on as well. I'm half way across when Leslie gets to the end and suddenly, the board snaps.

"Eva!" Leslie cries out before he hits the water.

"Leslie!" I scream, panic going through my head.

'I don't think he can swim,' I thought. I quickly run to where the board snapped and jumped in as well.

As soon as I hit the water, I'm looking for Leslie, blindly trying to find the boy in the murky water. Finally, when I'm about to go to the surface for air, I feel an arm. I grab it and pull him up closer to me and to my relief, it was him, but his eyes were closed and I barely felt his chest moved.

I quickly swam to the surface and climbed on to the rocks that lead to the docks. I pull Leslie out and laid him down.

"Oh god, Leslie, please tell me you're okay," I whispered.

He didn't move our talked, eyes still closed.

I started to freak out until I remember what I needed to do. I checked his pulse and sighed in relief when I felt it. I checked it breathing next, only to find it shallow.

'He might have water in his lungs,' I thought. 'Does that mean..'

"CPR," I mumble.

I pinched Leslie's nose and grabbed his chin, opening his mouth. I made sure he couldn't breath through his nose before taking a breath and blowing air into Leslie's mouth. The first try did nothing, and so did the second. When I did the third, I prayed I wasn't to late when Leslie sat back up with me and coughed up water.

"Oh, Leslie, thank god," I let out a sigh of relief. I rubbed his back as he coughed up water and when he was done, I told him to breath.

After a while his ragged, quick breaths slowed down and he was breathing as he was before.

"You okay?" I asked.

He nodded, but he didn't look up at me.

"Leslie, I am so sorry. I didn't think the board would break on you, I'm so sorry," I said, taking his hand. "You have every right to be mad at me. I told you everything would be okay, but it wasn't and I'm so sorry."

Leslie did nothing for a moment before wiggling his hand out of my grip. I thought I had completely fucked up, this poor boy doesn't trust me now, until he scouted closer to me and wrapping his arms around my neck. I stiffen, before realizing he's hugging me and I hugged him back, wrapping my arms around his torso.

"Please... Never again," He said into my shoulder.

"We are never doing that again, don't worry," I said. "I'm going to try my best to keep us safe. I promise..."

We pulled away and I helped Leslie up before looking over. A stair case lead up, possibly leading to where that closed off area was.

"I guess we go that way," I said. And with that, Leslie took my hand again and we start up the staircase.


End file.
